By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Starting with a local 4-H club and the sidelines at Great Bend High School, Molly Kaiser has worked her way through the photography business, first at Kansas State University, then as an intern with the Minnesota Twins, and now as a full-time professional at the University of Florida. But sometimes it's the smaller things that matter most. Kaiser recently won the first-ever Special Olympics Kansas Myron Cramer Photo of the Year Award.
"The roots run deep with Special Olympics in my family," she said. "Being able to give back and use my career as something that can showcase the joy and everything Special Olympics stands for. It gives people an opportunity to be themselves and showcase what God-given talent they have."
In February, Kaiser returned home to take photos at the West Region Basketball and Cheerleading Tournament in Great Bend. Many of her shots have been used by Special Olympics Kansas throughout the year, but a picture titled "Joy of Basketball" featuring three players full of smiles, notched her the award.
Kaiser's involvement with Special Olympics began with a civic oration assignment in elementary school. She selected Rosemary Kennedy as her subject and learned about Kennedy's trials and tribulations. In 1962, Eunice Kennedy Shriver started a summer day camp in her back yard for those with intellectual disabilities. That camp eventually turned into the Special Olympics. Kaiser's grandfather was an entertainer for the organization, and her cousin, Brent, recently became the coordinator for Special Olympics Kansas.
Kaiser's love of sports photography also began at a young age. She was an award-winning photographer for the TLC Twisters 4-H Club, and still recalls her first sports photo tens of thousands of shutter clicks later.
"My first sports photo I took was on my iPod Touch at a middle school track meet," she said. "It just never stopped from there, my love for sports and just getting those moments a lot of people miss captured. That's unbeatable to me. Going from an iPod Touch to helping run a department at a very successful D-I school is unbelievable to me."
Kaiser graduated from GBHS in 2019, then studied journalism and mass communications at Kansas State University. She not only took photos for various Wildcat teams, but that position landed her a summer internship with the Minnesota Twins in 2022. Upon graduating from Kansas State, she accepted the assistant director of photography position at the University of Florida. She's now traveled all over the Southeastern Conference (SEC), including stops at LSU's "Death Valley," the University of South Carolina, the University of Missouri, and the University of Utah.
The SEC is a noted sports conference known for its pre-game atmospheres. Kaiser has yet to visit some of the biggest schools in the country, but she's enjoyed the pageantry of football in the south, including the Gator Walk in Gainesville.
"It was very different going from Kansas State to Gainesville," Kaiser said. "K-State has the parking lots all around the stadium. In Gainesville, the stadium is surrounded by the campus. I walk to work those days because I'm super close to my office. Everywhere on campus is just filled with tailgaters. I think that was really cool to see the first time."
But it's not all fun and games. Kaiser typically works a 9-5 workweek with additional duties on top.
"During that 9-5, it's a lot of scheduling and helping our student interns with anything they need help with," she said. "A lot of them come in with little to no experience, so it's getting them to a level where they can apply for jobs and be confident with the product they're putting out."
Kaiser also took photos at the Major League Soccer All-Star Game in St. Paul, Minn., in 2022, and has also used her talents at concerts. While in Kansas, Kaiser also worked with the Kansas City Monarch baseball team and the Kansas City Current in the women's professional soccer league.